Do you think dragon riding is a good idea?

What if in the next Wii Zelda, they replace Epona with some sort of dragon? That would be really cool. Imagine going at top speed around 7 times faster then Epona, in a gigantic overworld. Just imgine you being able to go through a huge and seemingly endless mountain range right on top of your dragon. And each mountain is special, like one has a heartpiece, one has a great fairy, etc. Just think of exploring a vast sea on your dragon, instead of using KoRL. Or simply imagine yourself gliding through the clouds, looking down on the land and seeing all its features

Also, imagine just breathing out fire with your dragon and burning everyone in your path. How about riding your dragon in a dungeon to make way for new puzzles that have never been seen before? Best of all, imagine having a boss fight on your dragon. Fighting bosses like Argorok would be so cool if you were riding a dragon.

What do you think? Should Nintendo implement dragon riding, or not.?

That would be really cool actually. Only that it would have to either come pretty late, or there are certain places you cannot fly yet (maybe strong winds covering the areas) so that you cannot just fly over everything.
But I really like the idea, see the world from a birds view. Especially the mountains thing. Nice going.

It just wouldn't work for me, because dragon-riding reminds me of The Neverending Story, which reminds me of that creepy wolf in the movie that gave me nightmares as a small child.

Strange, perhaps, but that is my reasoning.

Now this is a difficult question to think about. I'm not sure if dragon riding would be a such a good idea to implement in a Zelda game, even though I do happen to like dragons and dragon games quite a lot. There would be a lot of AI issues to contend with, not to mention the movement, controls and manoeuvre of the steed in question, which would be vastly difficult in comparison with Epona the horse. The 'flying' minigame that was in the TP was not something I enjoyed especially much, and I really don't think I would like the majority of my travel system based on something like that, unless there was work and care taken to make the dragon flight sleek, easy and enjoyable like Epona's system.

It's generally a difficult theme to try and get right, and if it's not a good system, it could really ruin a considerable amount of the game. Kamiks makes a very good point as with dragon flight, you could pretty much just go anywhere you want, so something such as high winds to make certain places inaccessible would help, as if done 'right', it really could be quite fantastic. Just as long as it's not too stereotypical and LOTR's-ish/Eragonish.

One word: Eragon.

I wouldn't like it. Just give Link a winged horse; you'd get the same sense of freedom (which I think is very important and sorely missing from recent games) and it would be more Link's style.

By the way, dragons are my favourite animal, so it's not because I don't like them. Pehaps you could befriend a dragon during the course of the adventure, and perhaps in a sidequest you could tame one and ride one, but it shouldn't be the main steed.

But I think it's essential that at least one of the bosses is based around a dragon.

Originally Posted by Divine Dragoon

It just wouldn't work for me, because dragon-riding reminds me of The Neverending Story, which reminds me of that creepy wolf in the movie that gave me nightmares as a small child.

Strange, perhaps, but that is my reasoning.

Yes, G'mork is pretty creepy.



It would be neat if in the next Wii LOZ, you have to tame a dragon, that being part of your quest, and afterward you can use it to travel over the world. I think the taming should be a bit more complicated than the chocobo-training that you can do in FFX. Make it a challenge with a great reward.

Dragons simply don't suit in the Legend Of Zelda series as Link's helper.
Also, the concept of creating adragon isn't very well thought-out, there exist alternate songs to warp to particular places, for example the Song Of Soaring in Majora's Mask.

I like That idea. Maybe it's just because I like dragons.
I don't think it should replace Epona though. Epona is part of the Zelda world. It does remind me of Eragon.....

I don't think that wouold be such a great idea. I think that Epona is something that can't be totally replaced. However, I would be more open to the idea if they made it as just a mini-game/mini-quest. Like where in TP you had to ride (well, not really ride) a dragon to get up Lake Hylia.

Good for other games, Zelda not so much.

Epona = Classic, and I can't see Nintendo removing her any time soon. I hate the idea of having a Dragon instead of a valiant steed. The dragon minigame in TP could do with some serious tweaking if you ask me. I don't enjoy it much, and it seems the dragon is a little awkward to control, and you can never get it to go in the direction you want, and overall it felt like it didn't have any weight. Epona felt similar, she moved around too lightly, and Wolf Link had the right weight. That's one thing in every game I notice, whether the character has the right weight. I can't stand characters which don't have the right weight, for example, Tekken 5. Hworang, he has no weight on his legs, and it's really awkward.

But back on topic. Dragon riding isn't a good idea, and as Taledin has said above, it's not really suited for a Zelda game, even in TP it seemed a little...odd.

Nope, riding a dragon just doesn't = Zelda.

I like the idea, but it seems like a Fierce Deity thing, where you'd only be able to use it in certain places. Maybe it could be used to reach a dungeon on Mount Death.

it would be a good idea but you don't ride it the whole game.i think they should make another sky dungen where you have to ride a dragon to get to and the explore the dungen by yourself and the last time you ride it would be during the boss fight.that would be awsome

There'd be some pretty major issues with loading times if you can just fly all around Hyrule.
Remember all those dumb tight passage ways in TP? They were a nice place to cut of each part of Hyrule.

Also, Dragon riding is more Final Fantasy'ish instead of Zelda'ish...
However, considering the next Wii Zelda's trailer, a Dragon might appear in this next game.

Originally Posted by V99

There'd be some pretty major issues with loading times if you can just fly all around Hyrule.
Remember all those dumb tight passage ways in TP? They were a nice place to cut of each part of Hyrule.

I would say so too.

Maybe it would be interesting to have a boss battle where you controlled a dragon in a large arena. But even that would lead to too much file size. I'm not sure if even the Wii could handle it... But, it's possible.

However, considering the next Wii Zelda's trailer, a Dragon might appear in this next game.

Trailer?

Where?

That would be cool but sort of hard to believe. Link riding a dragon just wouldn't feel "Zelda" to me. Besides that it would be TONS of fun. Especially if they did make some gigantic overworld with mountains, lakes, forests, deserts, plains, and other things you can fly over/through.

Give Link a Dragon and throw away Epona? That would brake my heart. I have to admit, it would be fun tho.